Oxide coated cutting tool with increased wear resistance and method of manufacture thereof

ABSTRACT

An oxide coated cutting tool including a body coated with refractory single- or multilayers one of which consists of single-phase κ-Al 2  O 3  characterized by controlled microstructure with crystal planes preferably grown in the (210)-direction with respect to the exposed surface of the coated body. The oxide coated cutting tool exhibits increased wear properties when machining ball bearing steel.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an oxide coated cutting tool for chipforming machining.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Chemical vapour deposition ("CVD") of alumina on cutting tools is a well established technology. The wear properties of Al₂ O₃ as well as of other refractory materials have been discussed extensively in the literature.

The CVD-technique has also been used to produce coatings of other metal oxides, carbides and nitrides, the metal being selected from transition metals of the IVB, VB and VIB groups of the Periodic Table of the Elements. Many of these compounds have found practical applications as wear resistant or protective coatings, but few have received as much attention as TiC, TiN and Al₂ O₃.

Al₂ O₃ crystallizes in several different phases: α, κ, γ, β, θ, etc. The two most frequently occurring phases in CVD of wear resistant Al₂ O₃ -coatings are the thermodynamically stable, hexagonal α-phase and the metastable κ-phase. Generally, the κ-phase is fine-grained with a grain size in the range 0.5-3.5 μm and often exhibiting a columnar coating morphology. Furthermore, κ-Al₂ O₃ coatings are free from crystallographic defects and free from micropores or voids. The crystallographic structure of κ-Al₂ O₃ is basically orthorombic and the unit cell can be expressed with orthogonal indices which might be transformed to a hexagonal unit cell with hexagonal indices.

The α-Al₂ O₃ grains in mixed α+κ-Al₂ O₃ coatings are usually coarser with a grain size of 1-6 μm depending upon the deposition conditions. Porosity and crystallographic defects are in this case frequently occurring.

On commercial cutting tools, Al₂ O₃ is always applied on TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z) coated carbide or ceramic substrates (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,896, now Reissue U.S. Pat. No. 29,420 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,696) and the interfacial chemical reactions between the TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z) -surface and the alumina coating are of particular importance.

The practice of coating cemented carbide cutting tools with oxides to further increase their wear resistance is in itself well known as is evidenced in, e.g., U.S. Pat. Reissue No. 29,420 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,399,168, 4,018,631, 4,490,191 and 4,463,033. These patents disclose oxide coated bodies and how different pretreatments, e.g., of TiC-coated cemented carbide, enhance the adherence of the subsequently deposited oxide layer. Alumina coated bodies are further disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,736,107, 5,071,696 and 5,137,774 wherein the Al₂ O₃ -layers comprise α, κ and/or α+κ-combinations.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,866 describes a method for producing fast growing Al₂ O₃ -layers by utilizing a hydrolysis reaction of a metal halide under the influence of a dopant, e.g., hydrogen sulphide (H₂ S). The resulting coating consists of a mixture of the smaller κ-grains and the larger α-grains. The process yields coatings with an even layer thickness distribution around the coated body.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,696 discloses a body coated with single-phase κ-Al₂ O₃ deposited epitaxially onto an MX-layer where MX is a carbide, carbonitride or oxycarbonitride of a metal from the Groups IVB, VB or VIB of the periodic table. Swedish Patent Application No. 9101953-9 discloses a method of growing a fine-grained κ-alumina coating.

Single-phase α-Al₂ O₃ -layer with preferred crystal growth orientation in the (012)-direction is disclosed in Swedish Patent Application No. 9203852-0, in the (110)-direction is disclosed in Swedish Patent Application No. 9304283-6 and in the (104)-direction is disclosed in Swedish Patent Application No. 9400089-0.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to overcome disadvantages and drawbacks of prior art oxide coated cutting tool inserts.

Another object of the present invention is to provide onto a cemented carbide substrate or preferably onto the aforementioned TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z), coating at least one essentially single-phase Al₂ O₃ -layer of the polymorph κ with a desired microstructure and crystallographic texture using suitable nucleation and growth conditions such that said properties of the Al₂ O₃ -layer are stabilized.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an alumina coated cutting tool insert with improved cutting performance when machining ball bearing steel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a Scanning Electron microscope (SEM) top-view micrograph at 2000× magnification of a typical Al₂ O₃ -coating produced with the claimed process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

According to the invention there is provided a cutting tool comprising a body of cemented carbide onto which a wear resistant coating has been deposited. The coating comprises one or more refractory layers of which at least one layer is a dense and textured Al₂ O₃ -layer of the κ polymorph.

A cutting tool coated according to the present invention exhibits improved wear resistance compared to prior art tools when machining ball bearing steel with coolant.

More specifically, the coated tool comprises a substrate of a sintered cemented carbide body, cermet or a ceramic body preferably of at least one metal carbide in a metal binder phase. The individual layers in the coating structure may be TiC or related carbide, nitride, carbonitride, oxycarbide and oxycarbonitride of a metal selected from the group consisting of metals in the Groups IVB, VB and VIB of the Periodic Table of the Elements, B, Al and Si and/or mixtures thereof. At least one of said layers is in contact with the substrate. However, at least one of the layers in the coating structure comprises a fine-grained, dense, essentially single-phase κAl₂ O₃ coating free of microporosity and crystallographic defects. This coating is preferentially textured with a thickness of d=0.5-25 μm, preferably 1-10 μm and with a grain size of 0.5-6 μm, preferably 0.5-4 μm.

The Al₂ O₃ -layer according to the invention has a preferred crystal growth orientation in the (210) direction which is determined by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) measurements. A Texture Coefficient, TC, can be defined as: ##EQU1## where: I(hkl)=measured intensity of the (hkl) reflection;

I₀ (hkl)=standard intensity of the ASTM standard powder pattern diffraction data;

n=number of reflections used in the calculation, (hkl) reflections used are: (002), (112), (013), (122), (113), (032), (210), (222), (050).

According to the invention, TC for the set of (210) crystal planes is larger than 1.5, preferably larger than 2.5 and most preferably larger than 3.0.

In a preferred embodiment, the alumina layer according to the present invention is preferably the outermost layer but there may also be deposited on top of it one or more further layers such as a thin <1 μm thick TiN-layer.

In yet a further preferred embodiment, said alumina layer is in contact with a TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z) -layer which preferably is the innermost layer of the coating.

The textured Al₂ O₃ -coating according to the invention is obtained by careful control of the process conditions during the nucleation of the Al₂ O₃ . It is furthermore of vital importance to set the oxidation potential of the process gases, i.e., the water vapour concentration, prior to the Al₂ O₃ -nucleation to less than 5 ppm. The nucleation of Al₂ O₃ is initiated by a controlled sequencing of the reactant gases as follows: H₂ and HCl are first allowed into the reactor followed by AlCl₃ and at last CO₂. The amount of HCl added should be controlled to be between 2.5 and 10% by volume, preferably between 3.0 and 6.0% by volume, most preferably between 3.5 and 5.0% by volume during the nucleation. The temperature shall preferably be between 950 and 1000° C. during the nucleation. The growth step in the alumina deposition process may be performed at the same temperature as the nucleation step but a dopant, such as a sulphur containing gas, preferably H₂ S, is added in order to enhance the deposition rate. However, the exact conditions depend to a certain extent on the design of the equipment used. It is within the purview of the skilled artisan to determine whether the requisite texture and coating morphology have been obtained and to modify the nucleation and the deposition conditions in accordance with the present specification, if desired, to effect the amount of texture and coating morphology.

It has also been found that a smooth coating surface will further improve the cutting performance of the tool insert. A smooth coating surface can be obtained by a gentle wet-blasting of the coating surface with fine grained (400-150 mesh) alumina powder or by brushing the edges with brushes based on, e.g., SiC as disclosed in Swedish Patent Application No. 9402543-4.

The invention is described with reference to the following examples which are merely illustrative of various aspects of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Sample A. Cemented carbide cutting inserts with the composition 5.5% by weight Co, 8.6% by weight cubic carbides and balance WC were coated in a chemical vapour deposition process with 4 μm of TiCN. In a subsequent process within the same coating cycle, a 6 μm thick κ-Al₂ O₃ layer was applied. The Al₂ O₃ coating process was divided into two parts: a nucleation part and one growth part during which the process was catalyzed using H₂ S as dopant. During the nucleation step of Al₂ O₃, the process parameters were controlled in order to promote the (210) texture of the Al₂ O₃ -layer.

Prior to the Al₂ O₃ deposition process, the oxidation potential of the gas passing through the reactor was kept at a minimum to ensure that the surface composition would promote κ-Al₂ O₃ deposition.

The process conditions during the Al₂ O₃ deposition process were:

    ______________________________________                    Nucleation                           Growth     ______________________________________     CO.sub.2 % by volume                      3.5      3.5     AlCl.sub.3, % by volume                      2.3      2.3     HCl, % by volume 3.5      4.5     H.sub.2 S, % by volume                      --       0.4     H.sub.2          balance  balance     Pressure, mbar   55       55     Temperature, ° C.                      980      980     Duration, hours  1        8.5     ______________________________________

XRD-analysis showed that the coating consisted of single phase κ-Al₂ O₃ with a texture coefficient TC(210) of 3.3 of the (210) planes. SEM-studies showed a 6 μm thick Al₂ O₃ -layer.

Sample B. Cemented carbide cutting inserts of the same composition as in Sample A above were subjected to a coating process and coated with 5 μm of TiCN and then 5.8 μm of κ-Al₂ O₃ . The κ-Al₂ 0₃ deposition was performed according to a prior art technique.

XRD analysis of the coating showed that the Al₂ O₃ consisted of single-phase κ-Al₂ O₃ , with a texture coefficient TC(013) of 3.1 of the (013) planes.

Sample C. Cemented carbide cutting inserts according to Sample A were coated in a process with TiCN followed by an Al₂ O₃ process according to a prior art technique resulting in a mixture of coarse α-Al₂ O₃ grains and fine κ-Al₂ O₃ grains. On a polished cross-section, the coating thicknesses were found to be 5.0 μm of TiCN and about 6.2 μm for the mixed-phase Al₂ O₃. An XRD investigation showed that the ratio κ/α was about 0.4. The κ-Al₂ O₃ exhibited a texture coefficient TC (013) of 2.6 of the (013)-planes and the α-Al₂ O₃ showed no preferred orientation.

Sample D. Inserts from deposition in Sample A were subjected to a heat treatment for 8 hours in flowing H₂ -atmosphere. This resulted in a transformation of κ-Al₂ O₃ to 100% α-Al₂ O₃. According to XRD-analysis the α-Al₂ O₃ exhibited a texture coefficient TC of 1.5 of the (104) planes as well as of the (110)-planes.

The inserts according to this Example were then tested with respect to flank wear resistance in a longitudinal turning operation of machining ball bearing steel (similar to DIN 100 Cr Mo 6).

Cutting data:

Speed: 200 m/min

Cutting depth: 2.0 mm

Feed: 0.36 mm/rev

Coolant was used

The results are expressed in Table 1 below as working time required to reach a predetermined flank wear of 0.3 mm on the cutting inserts.

                  TABLE 1     ______________________________________                    Time to reach 0.3 mm flank wear,                    in minutes     Sample Coating       Test 1     Test 2     ______________________________________     A      κ-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (210)                          22.5       22.5 (invention)     B      κ-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (013)                          15         17.5     Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 κ            15            15     D      heat treated Sample A                          15         17.5     ______________________________________

EXAMPLE 2

Sample E. Cemented carbide cutting inserts with the composition 5.5% by weight Co, 8.6% by weight cubic carbides and balance WC as in Example 1 above were coated in a Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) process with 4 μm of TiCN followed by 5.8 μm of κ-Al₂ O₃ according to the invention.

The process conditions during the Al₂ O₃ deposition process were:

    ______________________________________                    Nucleation                           Growth     ______________________________________     CO.sub.2, % by volume                      3.5      3.5     AlCl.sub.3, % by volume                      2.3      2.3     HCl, % by volume 5.0      3.5     H.sub.2 S, % by volume                      --       0.4     H.sub.2          balance  balance     Pressure, mbar   55       55     Temperature, ° C.                      980      980     Duration, hours  1        8.5     ______________________________________

XRD-analysis showed that the coating consisted of single phase κ-Al₂ O₃ with a texture coefficient TC(210) of 2.2 of the (210) planes.

Sample F. Cemented carbide cutting inserts of the same composition as in Sample E above were subjected to a coating process and coated with 4 μm of TiCN and then 6.3 μm of κ-Al₂ O₃ . The κ-Al₂ O₃ deposition was performed according to a prior art technique.

XRD analysis of the coating showed that the Al₂ O₃ consisted of single-phase κ-Al₂ O₃ with crystal (013)-orientation, with a texture coefficient TC of 3.2 of the (013)-plane. SEM studies of the inserts showed that the alumina layer had an average grain-size of 2.8 μm.

Sample G. Cemented carbide cutting inserts according to Sample C in Example 1 above.

The inserts according to this Example were then tested with respect to flank wear resistance in a longitudinal turning operation of machining ball bearing steel (similar to DIN 100 Cr Mo 6).

Cutting data:

Speed: 200 m/min

Cutting depth: 2.0 mm

Feed: 0.36 mm/rev

Coolant was used

The results are expressed in Table 2 below as working time required to reach a predetermined flank wear of 0.3 mm on the cutting inserts.

                  TABLE 2     ______________________________________                   Time to reach 0.3 mm flank wear,                   in minutes     Sample  Coating     Test 1    Test 2     ______________________________________     E       κ-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (210)                         30        35 (invention)     F       κ-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 (013)                         22        22.5     Al.sub.2 O.sub.3+ κ             12.5        15     ______________________________________

EXAMPLE 3

Insert A of Example 1 was wet-blasted with 150 mesh Al₂ O₃ after the coating processes in order to smoothen the layer. The inserts were then tested in a facing operation of machining SS2172-4. Edge line flaking is the critical wear mechanism in this turning operation

Cutting data;

Speed: 130 m/min

Feed: 0.2 mm/rev

Cutting depth: 2.0 mm

The shape of the workpiece was such that the cut was interrupted three times during each revolution.

    ______________________________________                      Flaking (%)                      Edge line     ______________________________________     Insert B Example 1 78     Insert A Example 1 67     Insert A Example 1, wet blasted                        3     ______________________________________

The foregoing has described the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed. Thus, the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and it should be appreciated that variations may be made in those embodiments by workers skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A coated cutting tool body at least partially coated with one or more refractory layers of which at least one is alumina, said alumina layer having a coating thickness of 0.5-25 μm and consisting essentially of single-phase κ-Al₂ O₃ textured in the (210)-direction with a texture coefficient larger than 1.5, the texture coefficient being defined as below: ##EQU2## where I(hkl)=measured intensity of the (hkl) reflectionI₀ (hkl)=standard intensity of the ASTM standard powder pattern diffraction data; and n=number of reflections used in the calculation, (hkl) reflections used are: (002), (112), (013), (122), (113), (032), (210), (222), (050).
 2. The coated cutting tool body according to claim 1, wherein said alumina layer is the outermost layer.
 3. The coated cutting tool body according to claim 1, wherein said alumina layer is in contact with a TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z) layer.
 4. The coated cutting tool body according to claim 3, wherein said TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z) layer is an innermost layer of the coating.
 5. The coated cutting tool body according to claim 1, wherein on top of said alumina layer is a ≦1 μm thick TiN-layer.
 6. The coated cutting tool body according to claim 1, wherein said body is a cutting tool of cemented carbide, titanium based carbonitride or ceramics.
 7. The coated cutting tool according to claim 1, wherein TC(210) is larger than 2.5.
 8. The coated cutting tool according to claim 1, wherein TC(210) is larger than 3.0.
 9. The coated cutting tool according to claim 1, wherein the alumina coating has a thickness of 1-10 μm and/or grain size of 0.5-6 μm.
 10. A method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating, according to claim 1 the method comprising introducing the body into a reactor, contacting the body with process gases including a hydrogen carrier gas containing one or more halides of aluminum and a hydrolyzing and/or oxidizing agent at high temperature and depositing the κ-alumina coating on the body, the process gases having a low oxidation potential prior to nucleation of the alumina coating by maintaining a total concentration of H₂ O or other oxidizing species below 5 ppm, the nucleation of alumina being initiated by controlled sequencing of the process gases such that HCl first enters the reactor in a H₂ atmosphere followed by AlCl₃ and then CO₂, the amount of HCl being controlled to be 2.5-10% by volume, the temperature being between 950-1000° C. during the nucleation and a sulphur containing gas being added during the growth of the Al₂ O₃.
 11. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, wherein the body comprises a cutting tool insert and the amount of HCl is controlled to be 3.5-5% by volume.
 12. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, the alumina coating being subjected to a post-treatment.
 13. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, wherein the sulfur containing gas comprises H₂ S.
 14. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, wherein the body comprises a cutting tool body and the alumina coating has a thickness of 0.5-25 μm and consists essentially of single-phase κ-Al₂ O₃ textured in the (210)-direction with a texture coefficient larger than 1.5, the texture coefficient being defined as below: ##EQU3## where I(hkl)=measured intensity of the (hkl) reflectionI₀ (hkl)=standard intensity of the ASTM standard powder pattern diffraction data; and n=number of reflections used in the calculation, (hkl) reflections used are: (002), (112), (013), (122), (113), (032), (210), (222), (050).
 15. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, wherein the alumina coating is an outermost layer.
 16. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, wherein the alumina coating is in contact with a TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z) layer.
 17. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 16, wherein the TiC_(x) N_(y) O_(z) layer is an innermost layer.
 18. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, wherein on top of the alumina coating is a ≦1 μm thick TiN-layer.
 19. The method of coating a body with a κ-alumina coating according to claim 10, wherein the body is a cutting tool of cemented carbide, titanium based carbonitride or ceramics.
 20. The coated cutting tool body according to claim 1, prepared by coating a body with a κ-alumina coating, the method comprising introducing the body into a reactor, contacting the body with process gases including a hydrogen carrier gas containing one or more halides of aluminum and a hydrolyzing and/or oxidizing agent at high temperature and depositing the κ-alumina coating on the body, the process gases having a low oxidation potential prior to nucleation of the alumina coating by maintaining a total concentration of H₂ O or other oxidizing species below 5 ppm, the nucleation of alumina being initiated by controlled sequencing of the process gases such that HCl first enters the reactor in a H₂ atmosphere followed by AlCl₃ and then CO₂, the amount of HCl being controlled to be 2.5-10% by volume, the temperature being between 950-1000° C. during the nucleation and a sulphur containing gas being added during the growth of the Al₂ O₃. 